28. Grayson
Chapter 28
Grayson
My stomach lurches as all the missing pieces to this fucking nightmare I’ve been living fall into place. Carlee didn’t leave because she didn’t love me, she left because she did.
“He came to the cabin that day?” I ask.
“Yes,” she answers without hesitation.
Standing, I clutch my head in my hands as I try to wrap my head around this madness. There’s no longer a faceless name associated with her attacker. Jason Edwards is the man accountable. Worst still, he used my dad’s nickname while doing it.
He’s responsible for all this heartache, not to mention the demise of my relationship with Carlee. For that alone, I could kill him.
I’ve always been a family man. I’ve treasured all of my relatives fiercely since losing my dad. If his death taught me anything, it was that life is short, so never take your loved ones for granted. After everything I’ve just learned, any affection I held for my uncle, a man I once respected, has disintegrated in mere seconds.
How many others were there? Was Carlee his only victim? Images of my two young cousins, his daughters, flash through my mind… my sister Katlin too.
Turning, I start heading toward the doorway. I can’t stay here knowing that a man I trusted is responsible for this carnage. Carlee was right, this is all my fault.
“Grayson, where are you going?” Reece asks, reaching out to snag my elbow.
“I need to get out of here.”
“You’re going to see him, aren’t you?”
I turn my face away and nod. Carlee was right on the money when she said the truth wouldn’t set me free. My head is so fucked up right now. Thinking of all the time I spent with that man when I was a kid makes me sick to the stomach.
“Let me come with you.”
“Carlee needs you here,” I say.
He exhales a long, drawn-out breath. “She’s going to need you too. Don’t do anything stupid, okay.”
When Reece drops my arm, I resume my exit, ignoring his last statement. I can’t make promises I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep.
I don’t look back as I head for my car. I’m on a mission to track down the man responsible. The night I found out what had happened to Carlee when she was a child, I swore if the person responsible was standing in front of me would die. Nothing’s changed. By the end of the day, I may be locked up, but reaping vengeance for my girl, and everything he’s put her through, would be worth it.
The moment I’m seated in my vehicle, I reach for my phone in the center console, and search for his number in my contacts, hitting call.
My free hand is clutching the steering wheel so tight my knuckles have turned white. One of my legs is bouncing up and down at a furious pace as I try to rein in my anger. I need to keep my shit together until I find his whereabouts. I don’t want to say or do anything that may cause him to flee, that’s if he hasn’t already. If what Carlee is saying is correct, there’s a good chance he’s already gone. I hope that’s not the case.
Either way, he won’t be getting away with this. That’s a promise.
The longer his phone rings, the more agitated I become. When his voicemail kicks in, I hang up and dial again. This time he answers.
“My boy, we don’t speak for ages, and now we’re talking for the second time today.” He chuckles into the phone and it’s a serious struggle on my part not to lose it. He sounds so calm… so normal. “Is everything okay? Or do you just miss me?”
Is this fucker for real? I count to ten in my head before I answer. “Everything’s fine,” I lie. “I’m getting ready to head home and thought maybe we could catch up for a bit before I leave. Who knows when I’ll get to see you again?”
“Okay, sure. Do you want me to meet you somewhere? We could grab some lunch.”
“No, I’ll come to you. Where are you staying?”
The line goes quiet and for a moment I wonder if he’s trying to think of an excuse, but then he finally says, “I’m staying at the Embassy Suites on Rancho California Road. Let me know when you’re close. I can meet you down in the lobby.”
“What’s your room number, I’d rather come there?”
“Are you sure everything is okay, you sound… kind of off?”
This time I’m the one who remains silent as I punch the name of his hotel into my GPS. It’s only a few miles away. I’m already pulling out of the trailer park by the time I reply. “I’m on my way, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“What’s going on, Grayson?”
“You tell me?” I ask.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I don’t want to show my hand before getting there, but my resistance is slipping by the second. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you go after leaving me this morning?”
“I… I came back to my room.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“What are you implying, boy? I’m many things, but I’m not a liar. I have nothing to hide.” He’s lying through his teeth right now, and that only serves to amplify my rage.
I grit my teeth together, shaking my head. “Everything about you is a lie, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what your problem is, but I think this conversation is done.”
“Are you going to stick by the story you told me a few years ago about never making it up to the cabin that day?”
Despite how fucked up I was at the time, I remember that discussion vividly. I’d been driving around in circles for hours trying to track Carlee down; I was going out of my damn mind when I suddenly remembered him telling me that morning he may drop in for a visit. It was a long shot, but on the slim chance he did come, he may have seen her leave.
When I called him, he confirmed he never made it, saying something had come up at home, which I now know to be untrue. At the time I had no reason to doubt him.
I was a mess when we spoke, and I poured my goddamn heart out to him, confessing all my fears and confusion about Carlee leaving. He listened, he sympathized, and he even asked if there was anything he could do to help. I want to tear him apart. He’s the reason the last two and a half years of my life have been a living hell.
“What?” I hear the change in his voice as he speaks. “I don’t know what that bitch told you, but I can assure you it’s all lies.”
“The only person lying here is you.”
“You’re going to believe trailer park trash over your own flesh and blood?”
My temper snaps, and I scream into the phone. “I know what you did and I’m not just talking about today you sick fuck.”
The line goes dead and that’s all the confirmation I need. I put my foot down so I can reach my destination as soon as possible.
I maneuver my car into the first available spot I see and exit the vehicle. My heart is racing from the sheer amount of adrenaline pumping through my body as I jog toward the entry to the hotel. The moment I step into the reception area, I scan the lobby for any sign of my uncle. I’d be surprised if he stuck around after the phone conversation we just had. He knows the jig is up, and I won’t rest until he pays for every single thing he’s done.
When I find no sign of him, I head toward the front desk. The pretty brunette gives me a complete once-over before finally making eye contact. That only seems to enrage me further. I’m tired of being objectified by women.
“Hi,” she says, giving me her brightest smile. “Welcome to the Embassy Suites.”
“I need the room number of one of your guests.” The tone of my voice has the smile instantly dropping from her face. “His name is Jason Edwards.”
She clears her throat before glancing down at the screen in front of her. “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m unable to give out that kind of information.”
My eyes drop to the name badge pinned to her chest as I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. “You catch more flies with honey’ , Granny always says.
“Please, Josie, it’s an emergency.”
The calmer tone of my voice seems to help. “It’s company policy, but I can call his room for you if you like.”
She reaches for the phone sitting on the desk to her right. “Don’t,” I say, placing my hand on top of hers. “I just got off the phone with him a few minutes ago. He’s my uncle, and he wasn’t in a good way, I’m worried he’s planning on hurting himself.” It’s me who’s planning on doing the hurting, but she’ll never give me his room number if I tell her that.
Josie places her free hand on her chest. “Oh, my.”
“Can you please help me?”
“I can’t give you his information, but I can get someone from hotel security to go up to his room and do a welfare check.”
“Would it be possible for me to go with them?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Thank you.”
A few minutes later, I’m riding in the elevator to the second floor with a big, burly looking guy standing beside me. I give him the side-eye. He’s staring straight ahead, with a don’t-fuck-with-me look on his face. The key to my uncle’s room is clutched firmly in his left hand. He’s a damn tank, and I already know he’ll try to stop me when I lunge for my uncle, but hopefully, I’ll manage to get a few good blows in first.
My limbs are trembling by the time we reach our destination, that’s how amped up I am. I stand beside the guard as he knocks twice on the door.
“Mr.Edwards,” he calls out when there’s no answer. We both stand there waiting until he finally knocks again. “Mr. Edwards, this is hotel security. I have your room key; I’m going to enter.”
He doesn’t even get the card in the slot before we hear a loud crack coming from the other side of the door, closely followed by a thud. I went hunting enough when I was a boy to recognize that sound, and since a bullet didn’t penetrate into the hallway, I can only surmise its target. That thought is confirmed the moment the door is open and I see my uncle’s twisted body on the floor with a pool of blood starting to form around his head.
Fucking coward .